By Rick Wright

Staff Writer

Cape Elizabeth Assessor Matt Sturgis is going to be a busy man for the next 16 months. Almost single-handedly, Sturgis will conduct a revaluation of 4,300 taxable properties in town.

Cape Elizabeth last conducted a revaluation in 2004.

“It’s a huge undertaking but it’s part of what we do,” Sturgis said.

Originally, the revaluation was scheduled for 2008. Because the real estate market was in decline at the time, Sturgis decided to postpone the effort.

“I thought at the time it would not be wise to implement a revaluation in a shrinking market,” Sturgis said. “Since then the market has stabilized and now would be a more appropriate time.”

The town council endorsed the plan at its business meeting earlier this month. 

The revaluation must be done to equalize the tax burden for Cape Elizabeth property owners, Sturgis said. The assessment ratio now ranges from 60 to 84 percent of market value in the town’s 16 neighborhoods.

The assessment ratio is the relationship between property assessments and their sale prices.

“Most towns don’t have that kind of discrepancy. The folks who are assessed at 60 percent of market value are now paying less than their fair share. Folks who are assessed at 80 percent of market value are paying more than their fair share,” Sturgis said.

Around this time next year, property owners will be notified of their new assessed values. 

Sturgis said residents will have ample opportunity to appeal the assessments. 

By mid-May 2011, the town council will approve the town budget and set the preliminary tax rate. Sturgis said he would set the final tax rate by early August next year after he finalizes the town’s local assessed valuation.

This year, Cape Elizabeth’s overall property value is $1.345 billion, Sturgis said. 

If the town’s value increases next year, it would decrease the tax rate, Sturgis said. 

At the end of August 2011, Cape Elizabeth property owners will see the official results of the revaluation on their first tax bill due in October 2011.

Most properties will have information updated electronically by using special computer software that allows Sturgis to assess similar sites in mass appraisals.

Sturgis said he will personally visit approximately 300 properties to make sure his computer data is providing an accurate reflection of fair market value for property owners. 

During these visits, Sturgis verifies a property’s physical data on the outside and inside. He looks at a property’s shape, porch types (open or enclosed), fireplaces, decks, quality of construction and overall condition of the building.

All of this information is checked against property record cards kept on file in the assessor’s office. 

In 2003, Sturgis or his representatives visited all properties in town. This will be the first time Sturgis uses a combination of electronically generated appraisals and personal visits to properties.

“It’s a way that I can double check the quality of the data that I have. That way, I’ll know that I can have pretty strong confidence in my data,” Sturgis said.

The 300 test properties will be selected based primarily on real estate sales since 2008. Recent property sales will provide the most accurate picture of true value, Sturgis said.

“I’ll use as many sales as I can find to make my determinations. I’ll extrapolate the data from those sales to make the larger determination about what takes place with the other remaining properties,” Sturgis said.

In 2008, Cape Elizabeth’s 4,300 properties averaged about 66 percent of market value. Now they are closer to 80 percent, Sturgis said.

That means properties in 2008 were assessed for approximately 66 percent of their sale prices. Today, assessed values are near 80 percent of sale prices. 

By state law, revaluations must be done every 10 years or whenever local property values drop below 70 percent of market value.

To save money, most of the work will be done in-house by Sturgis and two support staff members. A few temporary staffers may be hired to help with appraisals and some clerical work, Sturgis said.

The program will be paid for with the $19,000 originally appropriated for the 2008 revaluation.

If the job was done by an external contractor, the cost would be around $120,000, Sturgis said.